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Barcelona to make Quique Setien SACK decision and Lionel Messi approves of his replacement
Barcelona are considering appointing Patrick Kluivert as their next manager.
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Barcelona will make a decision on the future of manager Quique Setien over the next couple of days, reports claim. The 61-year-old has failed to transform the club's fortunes and could be axed after just 22 games in charge.
Setien replaced Ernesto Valverde in January but things haven't exactly gone smoothly.
The Santander-born tactician saw his side knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage and relinquish the La Liga title to arch-rivals Real Madrid.
Barcelona laboured to league victories over relegated Espanyol and Real Valladolid before surrendering the title with a 2-1 Nou Camp defeat to 10-man Osasuna.
It was the first home defeat for Barcelona since November 2018.
The Catalan giants' only remaining chance of major silverware is the Champions League. They host Napoli in the last 16 second leg having drawn 1-1 in Italy.
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But Setien, who boasts a 63.64 win percentage in his 22 games in charge, might not be making the decisions.
And that, according to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, is because his future is in doubt.
The report claims Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu will decide if Setien should be sacked over the 'next few days' with a new candidate already lined up.
Mundo Deportivo claim Barcelona legend Patrick Kluivert is being considered for the top job.
Kluivert, 44, made 257 appearances for the club - scoring 122 goals and providing 59 assists in all competitions between 1998-2004.
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The Dutch icon currently works as Barcelona's academy director and has plenty going in his favour.
It's thought Lionel Messi and the rest of the Barcelona dressing room would be happy to see Kluivert given the position of manager and view him as a 'true standard-bearer' for the club's values.
He shares an excellent relationship with many players, especially Ansu Fati and could help to boost the influence of midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
Kluivert speaks SIX languages including Dutch, German, English, French, Italian and Portuguese and is considered Barcelona's version of Zinedine Zidane.